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A B M P m e m b e r s e a r n F R E E C E a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e b y r e a d i n g M a s s a g e & B o d y w o r k m a g a z i n e 77 that the two women watched the work of lay healer Oskar Estebani. At the time, healers of this type were thought to possess a God-given gift. She says most of it had a religious tonality to it and it was felt only people of certain faiths, or certain sects, could heal. Kunz and Krieger had already found influence from Christian healer Kathryn Kuhlman, and became fascinated witnessing the slant of Estebani's work. The two women eventually invited him to gatherings at the Pumpkin Hollow Retreat in New York to learn more about his healing processes. It was from there that the nonsecular Therapeutic Touch was born. "One time after a session was over, and we saw Mr. Estebani off, Dora and I were sitting on the lawn, having a few quiet minutes in the shade, talking about what had gone on. Dora told me, 'I think I understand how he is able to heal.' And I said, 'Dora, do you think you understand it enough to be able to teach it?' She thought about it for a moment and said, 'Yes, I think I do.'" It was the late 1960s, an era of enlightenment, where people began to think about health care differently, and Therapeutic Touch quickly filled a niche in the medical community. "With my medical connections, I initially got about 50 doctors and nurses together who wanted to learn to heal," Krieger says. That was a catalyst. With her knowledge of curriculum Dora Kunz, shown here with a Therapeutic Touch student, was described as a "woman of tremendous compassion." development, and Kunz's ability to connect with people, Krieger says the two were able to quickly bring the modality to the nursing community. Initially called Frontiers in Nursing, Krieger was able to get the work accredited at the graduate level at NYU. Acceptance grew, nurses were taking the work they learned into the patients' hospital rooms, and the dean of the college was pleased with the demand. "We were accepted by the medical community," Krieger says. "It all began to mesh together. We were the only ones at the time to have the support of both the medical community and academe." By the early 1970s, Kunz was ready to follow her next passion, and moved out of state to lead the Theosophical Society. Krieger was left to shepherd the healing paradigm they had constructed together. "I thought, there's too much good happening out of this to not keep it going." It was then that the work took its new name—Therapeutic Touch. Kunz remained active with the association when she could, and would attend the Therapeutic Touch conferences each year. "She was still very much part of it and we remained good friends until her death," Krieger says. Today, Therapeutic Touch has been taught at more than 70 medical centers and health agencies in the United States, and to people in health professions in 107 countries. More than 250,000 health professionals have been trained in Therapeutic Touch worldwide. Historical Importance If you don't know the history of Therapeutic Touch, then you don't know that Krieger and Kunz were key players in opening the door of complementary and alternative health practices to the traditional medical community. For a nursing community hungry to reclaim its roots of personalized patient care, Therapeutic Touch was a breath of fresh air. But its developers had to defend their work all along the way. One of the first challenges came in the mid-'70s when Krieger says the National Enquirer used deception to gain an interview with her, and then put her on its cover in a sensational story. It was heartbreaking, she recalls. "They were trying to discredit the therapy, but some good came out of it. Because I was the only one at that time who had both the medical community and academia as my sponsor, other people on the leading edge of this whole New Age push got in touch with me. And Therapeutic Touch What is Therapeutic Touch? According to the Therapeutic Touch International Association, this therapy "incorporates the intentional and compassionate use of universal energy to promote balance and well-being. It is a consciously directed process of energy exchange during which the practitioner uses the hands as a focus to facilitate the process." The University of Maryland Medical Center describes it as a technique based on the theory that the body, mind, and emotions form a complex energy field. A balanced energy field is indicated by good health, while illness represents imbalance. Developed by Dolores (Dee) Krieger, PhD, RN, and Dora Kunz, a natural healer, the modality was first taught to graduate nursing school students, but then expanded across the country, largely through the grassroots efforts of professional nurses. A Therapeutic Touch treatment is individualized for each clothed client/patient, and is typically less than 30 minutes.